Treaherous
by Laynie4
Summary: A new village has been discovered. But all the villagers disappear, like they were never there. Sakura and friends investigate the disppearances. As if that wasn't enough, Sakura is slowly falling for the number one, hyperactive, knuckle head ninja... Rated T for violence and language.


The village was silent; not a person in sight. This isn't good, Sakura Haruno thought, maybe we're too late. Her thought process was interrupted by someone tripping behind her and her group. Moegi had tripped over a small dirt hill at the entrance of the secluded village.

Mogei looked up from the dirt, pulling twigs out of her hair. She gave Sakura an apologetic look. _Sorry!_ She mouthed. Temari scoffed at the genin. "Look, Pinky. This isn't the best mission to bring your little apprentice on for the first time. This is crucial," Temari looked down at Moegi and rolled her eyes. "How can your chakra levels be so low already?" She asked the young genin, clearly sensing her weak chakra. "It's only been a few hours since we left Konoha."

Moegi was gathering her answer before Sakura interrupted. "Okay. In case you guys have forgotten, this village is missing it's entire population. So whoever wiped them out, is still on the loose. So please, shut the hell up."

Sakura mostly interjected to spare Moegi embarrassment. Her chakra levels were low because she was slower than the older group of kunoichis she was following; she had to focus all her chakra to her feet to keep up.

"Hinata," Sakura whispered, "Check the place out, will you?" Hinata nodded her head and closed her eyes for a split second, only to open them again, activating her Byakugan. Hinata scanned the area two times before nodding her head. "Not a soul in sight," she said softly.

Sakura nodded briskly. She wish she knew the area better. This village, Moranka, was recently discovered; it had been hidden from civilization to ensure the purity of their blood lines. The villagers had been harsh and aggressive when they had been found.

Tsunade had sent Sakura and a group of her choice to investigate the recent disappearance Moranka. After their discovery, most people thought they abandoned their village to start anew. But when they found a few dead bodies and clear signs of a struggle, Konoha decided to investigate. Sakura chose Hinata Hyuga, TenTen, Ino Yamanaka, and Temari. Temari had happened to be in Konoha at the time and bullied her way into the group. Sakura didn't complain, however; the girl was fierce on the battlefield.

As for Moegi… Lady Tsunade had been pestering Sakura for months about finally taking on her own apprentice. Moegi had heard of the recent open position, and practically jumped Sakura's bones at the opportunity. After two weeks of training, Sakura wondered how this girl had even graduated from The Academy. She had yet to walk on water, successfully hit a vital spot on the practice dummy, or even perform a low-grade taijutsu.

But, Sakura never gave up on Moegi. Which was why she brought her along on such an important mission. Sakura knew what it was like to be counted out, to be the under dog. And Sakura had every intention of teaching Moegi everything she knew.

Sakura took out a kunei and a ribbon from her hip pouch. She then tied the ribbon to the worn handle of the knife and stabbed it deep into a tree. "Alright, here's the plan. We'll split up in two groups of three. Look for any signs of recent activity and meet back up here at this tree in an hour. Moegi and Hinata, you're with me. Ino, TenTen, and Temari, you guys scan the west and south sides. We'll cover the east and west."

"Aren't the guys supposed to be showing up, too?" asked TenTen. "Yes," Sakura replied, "I'm not sure when though. So be careful to not attack them on accident." They all nodded and took off in two different directions.

The forest was dead silent, except for the crunching of dry leaves underfoot. They were approaching a stone path, leading to the town square. Hinata kept her Byakugan going, in case of a sudden attack. This, Sakura thought, is why I bring her with me. She smiled to herself. Moegi was being abnormally quiet, kicking leaves that were in her wake.

The sudden sound of glass shattering within the town, caused the trio to start in a dead sprint towards the village square. The streets were empty, save an emaciated dog who was drinking from the fountain in the center of the square. Sakura's eyes swept the perimeter. Movement caught her eye just at the edge of her peripheral vision.

A large beetle bug was flying in their direction. A wind current swayed the insect, but it continued it's path to the girls. It landed on Hinata's shoulder and she laughed. "Shino!" she called out.

"Hinata?" came a voice. Shino Aburame stood up from behind a trash can. "I heard glass shatter and I thought you guys were the missing villagers. Did you guys break the glass?"

Sakura shook her head, "Nope. Maybe it was that dog over there." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the dog.

"Shino! Ya find anything?!"

Shino hung his head. "Naruto, you really must learn to keep quiet. It's a skill you should posses by now…"

Sakura's heart flew down to her stomach. Naruto emerged from an abandoned house and made his way to where they were.

Alright, Sakura. Get yourself together. You're on a mission. Focus on the goal, she thought to herself. You'll have time to figure out what the hell happened between you and Naruto later. You have a mission to lead.

He shielded the street lights from his vision and squinted his eyes at the girls. "Sakura! Is that you? What're you doing here?"

She forced herself to laugh. "Come on, kid. This is _my_ mission you're on right now."

He gave her a crooked, half smile that melted her. "Yeah, right! I do what I want, Haruno." He playfully punched her shoulder. She held nothing back as she returned the favor, almost knocking him over.

"If the glass wasn't you, then who was it?" Shino asked.

Naruto's face reddened. He looked and the ground and said, "That may or have not have been my fault. Depending on how you look at it. I tripped over a damn cat and fell through a window. Not my _proudest_ moment…" He trailed off.

Hinata giggled. "Oh, it's alright, Naruto. It happens to the best of us!" Sakura laughed. Everyone except normal people. "Well at least we now know it wasn't the enemy. That's a relief." Shino mused.

"Oh! Hey Moegi!" Naruto gave her a cheesy grin and hugged her. Sakura had forgotten the genin was there. "Naruto!" Moegi squealed. "You can't keep doing that! I'm almost a chunin now! Childish games are over."

What Temari had said earlier must have gotten to Moegi. On any other occasion, she would have ran to greet Naruto, asking him to hug her tighter. Sakura's memory wandered to him holding _her_ tight. It was this time of night when it happened. _"I'd do anything for you. You know that, right?"_ Stop. Stop thinking. Focus Sakura, she thought to herself.

"Where's Sai and the others?" asked Shino. Naruto released Moegi from the tight hug. "I think they went to check the other side'a town." He checked his watch and nodded. "It's time to meet up with them." His blue gaze met Sakura's. "What's your plan, Sakura?"

"It's been about an hour since we left the others. We need to meet up with them. Send a clone to find me and we'll all meet then. How does that sound?" Sakura asked.

Naruto smiled and nodded. "We'll see you then!" They both turned away to walked back to meet their groups, when Naruto called her name. "Sakura?" Shino had continued on his way and left Naruto by himself.

Sakura waved Hinata and Moegi on while she turned back to Naruto. His gaze was serious. Her heart rate had to be in the danger zone by now. He grabbed her elbow and pulled her into him. Her face was buried in the orange jacket that she secretly loved, although she would never let him know that. All the stress from leading this mission dissipated when she smelled his scent and heard his steady heartbeat.

He pulled her to face him. "This mission is going to be extremely dangerous. I know you are going to put your heart and soul into this, but please, please don't do anything to put yourself in danger. I know that's asking a lot," he smiled and gently kissed her on the forehead.

The gesture was so sweet, it almost brought tears to her eyes. He looked at her pushed a piece of hair out of her face. "Deals go both ways, kid. You keep yourself out of anything you can't handle, and I'll do the same. Deal?" she smirked

He laughed. "Geez, you are a piece of work. I'll try my best." Seriousness returned to his voice. "Keep up your end of the deal. Please?" His eyes were pleading.

She felt so important to him. It felt foreign to mean so much to someone, but she liked it. She had to keep an eye on him, too. She wouldn't know what to do if she lost him…

She got on her tiptoes and kissed him hard, answering his plea. He kissed her back, harder than he ever had before. "Sakura!" They broke away from each other and stepped away.

"See ya later?" He smiled.

"Yeah. I'll see you later, kid." She winked at him and turned to follow Hinata and Moegi.

**Note: Hey guys! Sorry Chapter 1 is so short, but I'm trying to build suspense for Chapter 2! Lemme know what you guys think! Review, please? :)**


End file.
